Basterds or Hurt Locker?

[Viking]

Which is better? I vote for the Basterds. Mrs. Viking votes Hurt Locker

[RobinFinderson]

Hurt Locker is a great film. I can't figure out where Basterds fans are coming from when they say that it is QT's best. It isn't better than Kill Bill, and it isn't better than Pulp Fiction. Mrs. Viking is right.

[Viking]

i think the plot is much deeper and relevant than Kill Bill and PF (both of which I love, PF less so). the emotion and the near glee I feel in seeing two jewish kids from brooklyn mowing down hitler and other nazis is surprising to me

[Surfah]

I have yet to see either. I will. But it seems like every time I want to redbox them there is a game on TV I'd rather watch.

I have to admit to not liking KB that much at first. But it's Gidget's favorite. I have watched it a few times since and based upon what I have seen, I'd have to be blown away by IB to say that it's QT's best. I am afraid this may ruin my viewing of IB when I get around to it.

[Green Lantern]

i think the plot is much deeper and relevant than Kill Bill and PF (both of which I love, PF less so). the emotion and the near glee I feel in seeing two jewish kids from brooklyn mowing down hitler and other nazis is surprising to me

I can understand the visceral reaction but how exactly is the plot deeper and more relevant than his other films? Not disagreeing, I'm genuinely asking.

[Viking]

this is a revenge flick aimed at a man/organization that killed 6 million people. i think that's a more profound revenge story than the bride. personally, my great g-ma was jewish and had at least 300 years of jewish ancestry in norge

[woot]

Basterds just doesn't strike me as oscar bait. I enjoyed it; the acting was fun and it was surprisingly cathartic to see Hitler get mowed down, but the characters are caricatures and it is very ponderously paced for a revenge flick.

[Viking]

Basterds just doesn't strike me as oscar bait. I enjoyed it; the acting was fun and it was surprisingly cathartic to see Hitler get mowed down, but the characters are caricatures and it is very ponderously paced for a revenge flick.

you have to admit that waltz was amazing

[woot]

you have to admit that waltz was amazing

Oh definitely. He needs to win best supporting and it shouldn't be close. The acting wasn't an issue, really. Even Brad Pitt's terrible accent worked in context. QT's movies just don't seem serious enough to win an oscar even when he's dealing with serious subject matter. It might just be me, though.

[Viking]

Oh definitely. He needs to win best supporting and it shouldn't be close. The acting wasn't an issue, really. Even Brad Pitt's terrible accent worked in context. QT's movies just don't seem serious enough to win an oscar even when he's dealing with serious subject matter. It might just be me, though.

Mrs Viking and I saw him in front of the Time Warner Center around Thanksgiving. He's a tiny man.

[RobinFinderson]

this is a revenge flick aimed at a man/organization that killed 6 million people. i think that's a more profound revenge story than the bride. personally, my great g-ma was jewish and had at least 300 years of jewish ancestry in norge

And every single one of those 6 million murdered Jews had a mother. This is the force of Kill Bill. It is centered around a mother's search for revenge. The contrast between QT's stylized violence and dialogue against the theme of motherhood is what makes the film work. And that moment, when The Bride sees her daughter, and recognizes her even though she has never seen her before, and how she emotionally breaks down in that moment, in front of Bill... WOW! What an amazing scene. It centers the entire film, importing upon every earlier scene of 'senseless' violence a poignancy that just doesn't exist in any of Basterds. Kill Bill has a huge heart. Basterds, not so much.

Maybe one of the biggest failings of basterds is its lack of character development.

[woot]

And every single one of those 6 million murdered Jews had a mother. This is the force of Kill Bill. It is centered around a mother's search for revenge. The contrast between QT's stylized violence and dialogue against the theme of motherhood is what makes the film work. And that moment, when The Bride sees her daughter, and recognizes her even though she has never seen her before, and how she emotionally breaks down in that moment, in front of Bill... WOW! What an amazing scene. It centers the entire film, importing upon every earlier scene of 'senseless' violence a poignancy that just doesn't exist in any of Basterds. Kill Bill has a huge heart. Basterds, not so much.

Maybe one of the biggest failings of basterds is its lack of character development.

I agree with this, although you're a much bigger fan of KB that I. I don't mind slow movies, but it'd better make me love the characters. In Basterds the slow scenes seem to be designed for the coolness of it all. The slow poker game is thus so that the sudden violence is more stark, not because it advances the plot or helps us to know the characters much.

Still, I like Basterds more than KB, though I couldn't say why exactly as I haven't seen KB in a while.

[Commando]

Basterds was super shallow and overindulgent. Zero restraint or subtlety. The Hurt Locker was intense, realistic, restrained, and poignant. I vote Hurt Locker.

[Green Lantern]

Basterds was super shallow and overindulgent. Zero restraint or subtlety. The Hurt Locker was intense, realistic, restrained, and poignant. I vote Hurt Locker.

Zero restraint or subtlety? Wow, I don't think we were watching the same movie. In lesser hands, that movie could have easily been an over-the-top exploitation movie. Instead it's almost defined by its oddball pacing and defying of genre expectations. That's one of the things I loved about the movie: While HURT LOCKER is excellently directed and acted, BASTERDS is clearly a movie that is so idiosyncratic and weird, it could have been directed by no one else. We don't get movies like that very often, and the fact that this one was embraced by both critics and audiences gives me some hope for the future of American cinema.

[UtahDan]

Finally saw Hurt Locker last night. It gave you a lot to think about and, I agree with Commando, was very understated. It certainly was very well made. Still, in terms of pure cinematic experience and enjoyment, Basterds wins by a mile for me.